Oh no, not another Circuit of the Americas article! It’s not our fault, really. You may remember the dust up between Kevin Schwantz and the Circuit of the Americas racing facility, which saw the Texan MotoGP star left out in the cold when issues regarding COTA’s contract with Dorna and 3FourTexasMGP came into question six months ago.

We hadn’t heard much about Schwantz and COTA since that time, and thought things had moved on from the “he said, she said” blame game that went on between the parties involved. That apparently is not the case, as Kevin Schwantz has released a statement regarding how he was escorted off the COTA premises during the private MotoGP test there last week.

Getting credentials through the Attack Racing CRT team to help coach its rider Blake Young, and an invited guest of the LCR Honda team, Schwantz says he found himself on the wrong-end of the COTA security team, which asked him to leave the facility or face criminal trespass charges.

The booting might have something to do with the lawsuit Schwantz currently has with the Circuit of the Americas, and Schwantz’s belief that he single-handedly brought MotoGP to Texas. From the sidelines, the fallout between Schwantz and COTA (and to a lesser extent Dorna and Tavo Hellmund) has shown what has become a growing disparity in motorcycle racing.

Motorcycle racing fans, loyal to their two-wheeled heroes, have been quick to jump to the defense of Schwantz, who many see as another casual victim of big business and greed. Whereas seasoned businessmen (and businesswomen) can see the writing between the lines on how the agreements were made between the involved parties, and thus how Schwantz’s media company, 3FourTexasMGP, landed itself in its current predicament.

The reality is that Schwantz feels entitled to some sort of compensation for MotoGP coming to Texas, and has had no problems posting press releases to help put public pressure on the Texan race track. From what I have seen from the two parties, Schwantz by his own description had a very poor contract drafted with Dorna, which left COTA with all the power in the relationship.

Not being a skilled promoter, marketer, or anything beyond a legend on the race track, it is confusing as to why Schwantz would expect to be included in a business deal that centered around him promoting and marketing the Austin GP, and if there is one thing businesses hate, it is an unnecessary middleman. Is that how a race legend should be treated? Probably not, but that is how the cookie crumbles in the real world.

That being said, there is certainly plenty still to come from behind the scenes with both parties. Who is wrong, and who is right? That is for the courts to figure out (though we doubt this dispute will ever see the light of a courtroom), but we wouldn’t expect to see Schwantz at the upcoming Austin round for MotoGP. His statement about the incident is below:

“I have read several reports regarding my attendance at the MotoGP test last week in Austin. I would like to make this statement:

I had been in Switzerland over the weekend where I was the guest speaker at the St. Gallen University. I returned to Texas on Tuesday evening and on Thursday I was at CotA for the MotoGP test, with a proper credential supplied by the Attack team, to coach Blake Young. Additionally I was an invited guest of the LCR Honda team.

While there, CotA security informed me that CotA management requested I leave the track immediately and was not welcomed at the circuit. CotA’s security force also accused me of criminal trespass and warned I would be arrested the next time I entered the track.

This comes as a tremendous disappointment to Honda, Blake Young, and myself. Especially because I am single-handedly responsible for bringing MotoGP to Texas and for the initial design of the facility to accommodate MotoGP racing.”

Can’t really comment on this since I don’t really know the whole story, but what does he mean when he says “responsible for the initial design of the facility to accommodate MotoGP racing”, exactly? The place is a frickin car track from start to end. I can’t see any corner that a bike racer would design.

Bruce

I too do not have enough information to comment on whether Mr. Schwantz was wronged or not in the business deal with COTA. However, he seems somewhat naive to think he can initiate a lawsuit against an organization and then believe he will be welcome on their property. That, or he knew he would be ejected and hoped to garner additional sympathy. Regardless, for anyone to state they are single-handedly responsible for bringing in an event on the scale of a MotoGP race…uh, ok.

Spamtasticus

I remember the first thing I ever read about CotA was that Kevin was working on bringing MotoGP to the track and was helping make sure they kept bikes in mind during the design.

To hell with the Globalist COTA track, was planning on attending, but there is no way in hell I’ll go now! The way dorna has treated Kevin Schantz is criminal. dorna used his input to help design the track and his influence to bring MotoGP to Texas, and now they, dumb ass dorna, don’t Kevin to BE rewarded, in other words they just want to rip Kevin off, and keep all of the revenues for them selves, dorna SUCK DOG TURDS!

EVERYONE NEEDS TO BAN THE MOTOGP RACE IN APRIL AND GIVE dorna THE MIDDLE “F” ING FINGER, MINE IS REAISED!

TheRock550

Calisdad

I’ll side with Kevin (and Spam & Rock) on this one. When has Keven EVER asked for something that was not his due? What purpose did it serve to have him removed from the track? F-em. Not going, no way no how.

C-dad

arrow

While it’s quite right that and businesses hate an unnecessary middleman, businesses should also know better than pissing racing fans off by treating a racing legend and all-around nice guy like this. Schwantz was invited there by two racing teams and as far as I can tell, he wasn’t trying to hold a press conference about the court case. It seems like corporate bullying to me, nothing more…

mike

No matter what legal bs exists it is very poor form to remove a guest/coach. Especially if he had proper ID Pass to attend. It is discriminatory plain & simple.

Bad move

ronald

Our sympathy to K#34S…we must boycott CotA race in April…raise a petition….not attending to the circuit even if it’s for free…anyway KS is one of the living legend in motogp/GP500 in 90″s era…Dorna should give him a respect!!!

paulus – Thailand

Sad to hear… for sure it will alienate more than it attracts! A lost opportunity for everybody

Damo

Sad they did this to Schwantz.

That being said, I hope the COTA MotoGP race sells out. We need more support for motorcycle racing in this country not less. It is extremely unfortunate that a legend like Schwantz is being mistreated, but I want all motorcycle racing on all levels to be a success in this country as it has been on the wane most of my adult life.

Ken

Brilliant suggestions to boycott what will be one of the lowest attended GP’s in the series. Let’s all tell Dorna without Kevin Schwantz we don’t want to see GP’s in the United States at all. The riders already hate Indianapolis and Laguna doesn’t have a full program so why not jeopardize Austin before it even gets running. I have a great respect for the riding talents of yesterday that Kevin Schwantz has shown. Any world championship can’t come easy let alone on a Suzuki. I certainly know more about his riding talent then his business savvy. At the end of the day I really don’t care who’s right or who’s wrong I think it’s a great step forward for Grand Prix racing in America and in North America. Long live prototypes and Austin Grand Prix.

TRL

Never get in bed with car guys, it may be fun for a night but no shower in the world will remove the stench or the humiliation at what you let them do….

L2C

Not an expert on any of this, but I’ve been reading just about everything published piece that’s related to Kevin Schwantz vs COTA/Dorna. Of course, my impressions could have been colored by the biases of the publications that I read, but despite that in no way does it seem that Schwantz is lying or being shady or delusional about the role he played in the initial stages/deal to bring MotoGP to Texas. He seems absolutely straight-up! Dorna, for its part, has been extremely quiet on the issue (no surprise there), but every public gesture that COTA has made tends to make it seem like the rotten apple in the pact. COTA comes off like money-grubbing thieves – or at least ethically bankrupt businessmen, which is kind of the same thing.

It’s obvious that Schwantz was way in over his head, and that he didn’t have adequate legal representation during the nascent stages of COTA’s genesis, and I do feel for him having to learn such hard lessons so late in life on such a prized project, but COTA’s handling of the situation is simply disgusting. Was there not even one senior official among Dorna’s or COTA’s high-powered legal ranks that understood Schwantz’s predicament, who would offer some sort of remedial compensation for his efforts? It’s not like Schwantz didn’t do anything. It’s not like he didn’t matter at some point. Clearly he did matter. He obviously was a key player in the project who put in real man-hours during at least the early creative stages, and he should be awarded/compensated for that.

However this turns out, one thing is clear: Schwantz deserves something more and better than what he has thus far been shown and given by the other two parties. All parties involved in this debacle KNOW that Schwantz didn’t just show up in the middle of the night staking a claim. For people like me, in the court of public opinion, it’s easy to believe that Schwantz was integral to the the deal in the early stages, if not during each phase of contract negotiation. Neither Dorna nor COTA have publicly disputed that.

It seems like Schwantz’s contributions to the COTA MotoGP project represents significant value. And given COTA’s recent treatment of Schwantz at the Honda/Yamaha private test, the organization seems decidedly against Schwantz increasing the perceived value of his contributions. Did Dorna also have input into deciding to ban Schwantz from the circuit? Most likely we’ll never know, but can there be any doubt that Schwantz’s mere presence at the circuit is enough to provoke COTA’s legal department into having a world-class conniption fit?

Tony

Sad this happened, but still going! I don’t know all the business details about what happened and who is responsible for what, but that needs to be worked out in the courts. It is sad they would escort him out during testing but again, I don’t claim to have the inside line on the business aspects of what happened. I think a lot of people jump to conclusions based on partial facts or interpretations of what they believe are the facts. If Kevin was hired as a consultant, and paid then should he be pissed when not being included in a multi million dollar deal? I personally like guy but don’t know all the facts!

Tony

….and as for Dorna or COTA not saying anything, of course they won’t say anything in the press. They typically let their lawyers do the talking right or wrong just like every other corporation.

Robert Chase

Lawsuit or not. It’s kind of childish and short sighted to eject a racing legend like Schwantz from a fairly new circuit. COTA is a newcomer and should realize the potential PR fall out because with their actions. At the very least they owe him an apology for not being good sports. Many fans will vote with their feet and not attend COTA events because of this. Not exactly a great way to promote your new facility.

Stephanie

The bad moves from both sides continue…

Why would a business that invests billions of dollars into a facility of this scale not want to manage their own promotion of that facility ? It’s not just about the middleman siphoning profits. It’s about the amount of skin in the game that demands a company take care of things themselves by controlling how the business is represented, promoted, & managed 100%. Would you let someone promote your billions of dollars without being a managed employee?

Why would an INDIVIDUAL think that another business (such as Dorna) not see opportunitie$ with another businesses’ track of this scale? Schwantz or no Schwantz, MotoGP would be foolish to not try a few years at this facility due to its facility AND (most importantly) strategic market location. All of you boycotters will be surprised at the number of Central & South American fans in attendance in the coming years.

Why would a business who invests billions of dollars into this facility be so short-sighted and not harness Schwantz’ racing history? Why would they boot him off the property so close to just their 2nd main event?

Each party is being too greedy & short-sighted. Early manuevers snowballed and now they are letting their Texas-sized egos in the way of long-term prosperity for all of them. This is a shame and embarrassing as an American motorcyclist. Instead of promoting the hell out of this in an immensely positive way to further the sport into new legions of fans and performance bike sales in a NASCAR nation, we have this bullshit soap opera

L2C

They would especially keep quiet because they are trading on Kevin Schwantz’s personality – but COTA’s non-verbal responses to Schwantz are saying quite a bit.

Schwantz’s personality being attached to the MotoGP aspect of COTA’s formation could only mean increased interest from investors and increased interest to the sport. Neither Dorna nor COTA are going to dispute that either. There had to be some intangible thing to get the project up off the ground in the first place, something that would help generate excitement and interest. For sure Schwantz’s persona was used for that during the early stages, else why would they allow him to be involved at all if they believed/thought they didn’t need him?

ADG

Real world business is cut-throat , Mr. Jensen Beeler, nothing but a %1 tribe of morally and ethically bankrupt thieves who prey on the “less” fortunate for a profit.

CoTA really fucked up as have Dorna. Both have really screwed the pooch in this circumstance. At a time when the world economy is tanking and the biggest market for moto sales revenue is the US, CoTA and Dorna really aren’t the most “intelligent” business people. As a small business owner myself, I would have given him a VIP pass, let the legal team sort it out. Schwantz has done more for promotion of that track than CoTAs’ entire PR team.

Norm G.

re: “I remember the first thing I ever read about CotA was that Kevin was working on bringing MotoGP to the track and was helping make sure they kept bikes in mind during the design.”

+1

Norm G.

re: “While it’s quite right that and businesses hate an unnecessary middleman, businesses should also know better than pissing racing fans off by treating a racing legend and all-around nice guy like this.”

breaking news, they’re from CAR world. what that means is you can automatically assume them to be douche bags when it comes to anything bike related (ask me how i know). guys like jay leno, and the late larry miller (auto dealer and builder of miller motorsports park) are simply EXCEPTIONS to this rule.

Norm G.

re: “At the very least they owe him an apology”

no, at the very least they owe him a check.

the collective invested $400 million…? good, that means they’ve got $4 million (1/100th) laying around for use of his name. nike was certainly on the rise in 1980, but paid use of MICHAEL JORDAN’s name put them in the stratosphere.

Norm G.

re: “Never get in bed with car guys”

see, TRL knows what i’m talkin’ ’bout.

jr2

Hmmm…

The sides of most F-1 tracks are littered with the bodies of those who Bernie E. track owners and promoters used and threw aside after moving their projects forward. NFL Owners do the same with their quests for stadiums… and the France family doesn’t have the greatest reputation for “doing the right thing”.

People, It’s a business, not a charity, grow a set or get out of the game…

Been to an NBA game lately? No..? That’s because it’s become entertainment for the 1% who can afford the hundreds to thousands of dollars for the cost of a seat… every game…

If Kevin has a legal right to compensation, the courts will decide that… If after that is settled there is a path forward between Kevin and COTA then that can (and probably will) be explored (after all it is about the money…).

Beyond that, boycotts, “Free Kevin” t-shirts, and other such protests are (in my opinion) not effective with influencing the outcome of the court case, or the opinions of the management of COTA or DORNA.

In reading some of the “car” forums / blogs it’s pretty obvious that the management of COTA is in it to make a profit, and not make a bunch of friends. Can’t blame them, they have several hundreds of millions of dollars (USD) of their own, and Texas state funds riding on a facility that has only 1 “real” event (F1) right now and a very aggressive business plan that is yet to be proven.

And, yes, MotoGP is international and as mentioned before in the comments COTA may be more about Central and South America than the US (for now), but 68000 US viewers on average on Speed for a MotoGP race speaks volumes about the interest level in the US… (yes… yes… Speed sucks…)

I’m looking forward to going to Laguna and Austin this year, and many of the folks I know in Austin who are not “fans” are going to the race to “see what it’s about”… they think the ticket prices seem “reasonable” for Austin…

Finally, I’m sure that Kevin will have a bunch to say about it all at the Pole Position Travel Dinner on Friday night of race weekend… (That’s not a advertisement… just an observation)…

TRL

Been to an NBA game lately? No..? That’s because it’s become entertainment for the 1% who can afford the hundreds to thousands of dollars for the cost of a seat… every game…and even with all that money flowing to…well someone…..most teams and are still a business looser for the local taxpayer who foots the bill……there I fixed it!

TRL

@jr2…….. every game…and even with all that money flowing to…..well, someone…..most teams and are still a business looser for the local taxpayer who foots the bill……there I fixed it!

Mariofz1

They are car people, then again Kevin shouldn’t expect flowers at the track, if that lawsuit is still going ( have heard nothing else since those news broke a while ago ).

proudAmerican

I’m only watching from the sidelines, but I have a hard time with Schwantz’s own statement, “Especially because I am single-handedly responsible for bringing MotoGP to Texas…”

That’s a pretty bold statement for one man to make regarding a multi-million dollar business deal, that I’m guessing involved hundreds of people.

L2C

@ proudAmerican

Schwantz’s promotions company has the very first contract that was drafted by Dorna in his possession. That contract was supposed to be signed by COTA, but they didn’t sign it and instead waited for the deadline to pass. Then afterwards Dorna and COTA began doing business directly with each other.

That’s what this whole thing is all about. Schwantz is suing primarily because he claims that Dorna and COTA colluded together to allow the deadline to pass on his contract so that the two could begin working directly together. They effectively cut him out of the deal.

When Schwantz mentions that he single-handedly brought MotoGP to Texas, he’s referring to that first contract that Dorna drafted for COTA to sign – a contract that was drafted prior to any direct involvement between Dorna and COTA – and the use of his name and reputation in ratcheting up interest and excitement of MotoGP coming to Texas. These are facts that have been reported and confirmed by all concerned parties.

L2C

Sorry. Correction:

“Schwantz’s promotions company has the very first contract that was drafted by Dorna in its possession.”

Jeram Mallis

If Schwantz wants to really piss off COTA and DORNA he should have a few thousand Tshirt Printed, find people with roadside trading/stall permits in the area and pay them to give out FREE SCHWANTZ Tshirts with an Iconic picture on the front with his Name on it saying “AMERICAN ROAD RACING LEDGEND”, and a cheeky stab at COTA and DORNA behaviour on the back.

1. People will never turn down free racing memorabilia 2. Freedom of speech means that COTA cant do anything about it, plus they wouldnt turn away thousands of spectators paying good money 3. It will definitely get some Camera time on TV which will encorage the commentators to talk about it (if commentary is independent of DORNA/COTA 4. An army of thousands who are protesting without their knowledge or even better if they are aware would be amazing!

Duke

@L2C…

Expired contract or not, I’m not buying that Kevin Schwantz brought MotoGP to Austin. The track got the green light for F1. If you have that kind of ability to attract the most prestigious motorsport on the planet AND you also have that kind of property AND a blank canvas to start with of course you’ll get the attention of MotoGP and design your facility with dual purpose in mind.

semantics. he doesn’t need you to buy it, he just needs you to acknowledge that (at a minumum) he was there and involved at the beginning, and that time was spent and his name was used. pay the man. you don’t work for free, so why expect that he should…?

Norm G.

re: ” it is confusing as to why Schwantz would expect to be included in a business deal that centered around him promoting and marketing the Austin GP, and if there is one thing businesses hate, it is an unnecessary middleman. Is that how a race legend should be treated? Probably not, but that is how the cookie crumbles in the real world.”

but that is how the real world comes to have something called a legal system.

the cookies may crumble out on the street, but inside the court house, those with multiple millions who’ve done wrong get their asses handed back to them wrapped in a bow. walmart, target, AT&T, IBM, Electronic Arts, etc, all thought they could “crumble cookies” without consequence. a $100 million dollars in judgements later, they now see more clearly.

Agreement or hearsay, signed or not, no one should treat the greatest 500 cc legend that way. Especially his own Texans. KS was always honest, in his racing and in his business. Naive? Maybe. From my point of view, the first time I ever heard of CoTA was in an article mentioning Kevin… and his idea of how the track should look like. Texas gave us Mr. Shelby and Colin Edwards, (Ben Spies wasn’t born in Texas, right?), but the first image that comes to mind with the word Texas is Revvin Kevin wheeling his RGV. What would Croatia give for one Kevin Schwantz… If Texas doesn’t want him, he’s always welcome here!

ronald

I bought a Suzuki bike during 90″s era was because of KS in action battling hard vs others every race weekend..and like it or not…KS was one of many Gp500/Motogp riders who contribute many in bringing Gp500 to become a word-class motorsport show. He dedicate his life to the sport, and the sport is under Dorna. Now he is retire from racing, but still in the business in other form, and Dorna should give its ex. one of the greatest rider opportunities to be involve in Texas, as it is his hometown. If only Dorna has the attitude of “A Gentlemen agreement”…..

L2C

@ Duke

If you think that Schwantz just rode in on his pony at the zero hour, with his cap guns blazing, hoping to intimidate Dorna and COTA into giving him a piece of their not-so humble pie, then you haven’t read nor comprehended anything at all about this case. What you said is ludicrous. Yes, really.

From Wikipedia on Circuit of the Americas (COTA): “The layout was conceived by promoter Tavo Hellmund and 1993 Motorcycle World Champion Kevin Schwantz with the assistance of German architect and circuit designer Hermann Tilke, who has also designed the Sepang, Shanghai, Yas Marina, Istanbul, Bahrain, Yeongam, and Buddh circuits, as well as the reprofiling of the Hockenheimring and Fuji Speedway.”

Feel free to find references to Dorna admitting that they drafted a contract for Schwantz to have COTA sign? Dorna’s admission of this fact says that Schwantz was -at one time- the spearhead to bringing MotoGP to Texas. You cannot look at it any other way. And combined with Hellmund’s statements that Schwantz was involved with the design of COTA at the conception and early design stages, you have a timeline and a picture that Schwantz was not just some crazy guy sitting on a mound of dirt, hanging around the bulldozers and cranes drinking beer hoping to get his name back in the spotlights.

There is nothing to buy. And the facts won’t change just because you won’t accept them.

Duke

I’m not debating his involvement early on. Pay him for the work. I’m refuting that he single-handily brought GP to Texas as if a track of this size next to all of the motorsports markets would not ever attract GP at some point and that no one else would think to incorporate motorcycle racing. The other piece is the middleman. Doesn’t make sense.

Westward

I was going to make the effort to attend the first Texas MotoGP, but given the circumstances of its evolution, I regret I will decline.

Contrary to an earlier post, I do not wish for it to be a sold out affair. In fact I would hope that the racing public shun the event to show its displeasure of the conduct of COTA. Then hopefully they will deal with Schwantz with the respect and honour the situation deserves.

I would urge others to not support Wankers.

The only real power the proletariat have to bring such economic giants to heal is to not give them their hard earned wages. Unfortunately for them, and to the fortune of the Wankers, the proletariat are not of all of the same mind…

Duke

@L2C –

“Feel free to find references to Dorna admitting that they drafted a contract for Schwantz to have COTA sign?”

Schwantz worked on getting the track designed so it can easily incorporate motorcycle racing. Great! Pay him handsomely for all of that work, but explain the objections you have about a business (that invested that kind of money into their track & facility) that is not willing to sign a contract for x years that requires them to use a promotional company that they are not a part of…

Talk about a strange sense of entitlement.

Take Dorna out of the picture… 1. That track will remain 2. prototype racing will remain. 3. those markets will remain.

…and they will come together, but hopefully with as little middlemen as possible.

Why doesn’t COTA just say that it was more profitable to use lawyers to f**k KS rather than let him in on the deal he worked?

Business is always a game of who can f**k harder. I hate it, too, but every day go back into it with a handful of condoms. Gotta win.

One more thing: Please show me someone getting rich in ANYTHING related to motorcycles. Easier to find those who have lost their asses.

L2C

@ Duke

“explain the objections you have about a business (that invested that kind of money into their track & facility) that is not willing to sign a contract for x years that requires them to use a promotional company that they are not a part of…”

Because, according to Schwantz, they used him in a way that suggested to him that he would be a participant in the deal going forward. Dorna and COTA obviously had second thoughts, but Schwantz wouldn’t have them in court if the dispute had been amicably resolved.

Why would COTA agree to have Schwantz act as their go-between in the first place? Why would Dorna? What credibility could Schwantz trade on when Dorna drafted a contract with him for COTA to sign? Schwantz would have needed to have, at the very least, a verbal commitment with COTA to get Dorna to do anything at all. Dorna was not born yesterday either, because if Schwantz had showed up clueless to their offices, the organization wouldn’t have wasted any time drafting a contract in the first place.

COTA needed Dorna’s business. It simply made good business sense to send a former Motorcycle Grand Prix World Champion to the owners of MotoGP, to lay the groundwork and open the lines of communication between the two parties.

The question of whether or not Schwantz is entitled to participation in the shares, returns and profits that the remaining major players are entitled to is entirely the question before the courts.

And as far as I’m concerned, Schwantz can have the claim that he “single-handedly brought MotoGP to Texas.” It’s clear that he did a great deal of work to move the project forward. If Dorna and COTA used him and allowed him to have that perception of things, he deserves even more to have it.

ADG

@ Norm G.

I have to agree with you about Miller Motorsports Park. Excellent modern facility and well planned. I met Larry Miller before he died, and although he had more money than….uh, Markie Post, or someone, he was a very grounded and a genuine individual. Cool dude in my book.

Halfie30

Lived in Texas most of my life (unfortunately). Texas is about heat. It’s about laziness, and about 15 years behind now. Most of the people going to this race will be from out of state, and even then they won’t waste their money the next year when they realize its in a stupid location close to nothing. Drive by the track a few months ago and it’s clear “CotA” aren’t smart when it comes to several factors of keeping race fans coming to your track. I hope Schwantz gets a settlement, but even aside from that this track (other than design) is not well thought out.

CBRbie

about “single-handedly” bringing it to texas, i felt while reading it he’s prolly exaggerating to make his point in the heat of the moment